Short-term thinking led to long-term damage

We urge the Common Council to refrain from changing the City Charter to allow councilors to intervene at more stages in the planning process. Syracuse desperately needs strong city planning and the proposed amendments, though seemingly minor, would dramatically weaken the Planning Commission’s role and make it much easier for developers to circumvent even the most reasonable zoning requirements.

It is especially inappropriate to amend the Charter now, in a lame duck session, without public input, and in the wake of the spectacular success of the process as it now operates. The Eastwood business district has a much better development proposal on James Street because of the firm application of existing zoning requirements, and the amended Charter would have cut that process short.

Proposals from developers that may seem attractive for short-term economic reasons often do serious long-term damage to the quality of life of the city. You can see examples of this on almost every block of the city’s various business districts, where surface parking lots make ugly streetscapes that drive down property values and create a vicious cycle of neglect.

We understand that elected officials may feel that a strong land use plan dilutes their power, but the point of the plan is to help them take a longer-term view of what is best for the city. The cities in America with the highest quality of life are also the ones with strong, effective city plans. When all involved — residents, developers, business owners, and politicians — collaborate to implement a vision for the city, great things can happen. This is how walkable communities come about. This is how cities gain character and attract visitors and businesses. This is how vacant spaces get filled and population density rises. This is how tax levies increase. Please let the planning process keep working as it should.